Page 19 of Accidentally Joining His Cult

I’ve never been with a girl who’s tried anything like that before. And I’ve never really played any contact sports where I would be that close to other guys.

I’ve obviously never been with a man sexually. I’m straight.

Right?

Yeah, I’d know if I was into dudes by now, I’m almost thirty years old.

Definitely straight. I just wasn’t expecting that, and it got my adrenaline going and my blood pumping.

Totally a thing.

Beck clearly has no idea what tangent my brain just went on, and a laugh seems to force its way out of him. He has a great laugh, and hearing it instantly brings my smile back full force.

“Well, that wasn’t how I expected our reunion to go,” he says when he finally stops laughing.

Nodding, I gesture toward the front entrance, where I see a few more people heading in. “Should we act like responsible adults and go get checked in?”

“Yeah, I figured I’d wait for you since this was my first time, and I didn’t know if there was a special system.”

For some reason, hearing that he waited for me makes my chest feel lighter.

“We can go to the front desk and check in with the hotel employees. Then, there are usually a few different Kyla tables set up with name tags and itineraries for the weekend, depending on your rank in the company.”

He looks at me a little skeptically as I say that part, so I rush to clarify. “Not a ton of people who are new to the programs want to jump right into the retreat weekends. They tend to be more for coaches to learn from the company executives about how they can improve their own courses or learn new materials for themselves before going out to teach them to people.”

“So it’s okay that I’m here, though, right?” he asks, still looking unsure.

“Definitely!” I assure him. “Viktor loves when people want to join retreats, especially people who are already so successful on their own, like you. We’ve had CEOs and politicians come to these retreats, they can skip the middleman and learn from the people actually creating the material. The coaching system is great for helping to make Kyla more accessible for everyone by coming to them, but learning from Viktor himself is something that I wish everyone could experience,” I add with enthusiasm.

Beck finally looks convinced, visibly relaxing as he picks up his own bags to follow me inside.

We’ve arrived toward the end of the check-in period, and there’s only one person ahead of us in line. We approach the desk together, but I gesture for Beck to give his information first.

Then the woman looks at me expectantly to also give my info like we’re together.

“Sorry, I should have hung back. We’re booked separately.” I flash her a big smile. Her cheeks darken a little, and she looks at her computer and then back at us again, her expression growing more concerned.

“I’m so sorry.” Her friendly demeanor has been replaced, and she’s in full customer service apology mode. “It seems we’ve overbooked this weekend. I think there was an error with our system because we only have one open room left on the property.”

I glance at Beck, who gives me a questioning look.

The venue consists of the main building with hotel-style rooms, where I’d planned to stay, and cabins near the lake used for team-building and bonding activities. The cabins are typically reserved for couples or high-level executives like Viktor.

My job title might qualify me for one, but I’ve never bothered—it seems unnecessary when I’m used to regular hotel rooms.

“The opening is a studio-style suite,” she continues. “It’s a cabin, so more spacious than a hotel room in the tower here would be, but unfortunately, there’s only one bed.”

Beck raises an eyebrow at me, clearly wondering how I want to handle this.

“Would you be okay sharing a room?” I ask. “If you want your own space, I’m sure I could ask around and find someone else to crash with. I know most of the people here.”

I don’t want him to think that I don’t want to share with him, though, so I backtrack. “But I was also really looking forward to spending time with you this weekend, so a sleepover could be fun! No pressure. Either way, I’m sure we can hang out.” I really do try to sound casual as I ramble on, but I can’t stop some of my excitement about the idea from showing in my tone.

Beck grins at me indulgently. “If you’re okay with it, I think that a sleepover with you could be very fun.” He winks and turns back to the woman checking us in. “That will be fine with us both, thanks.”

After giving her my info so that she can combine our reservations into one, we each get a key and head toward the only Kyla welcome table that still has someone sitting at it with papers.

The young man behind the table perks up as we approach. “Hi, Cody!”

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